


Mélās Zōmós

by my_soliloquy_chamber



Series: Stentor gets a girlfriend [1]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Gen, Post-Cult Deimos, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28338438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_soliloquy_chamber/pseuds/my_soliloquy_chamber
Summary: Stentor is not happy on the Adrestia and Kassandra tries to lift his spirits, though it's probably Alexios who saves the day.
Series: Stentor gets a girlfriend [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075325
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	Mélās Zōmós

* * *

Kassandra stood at the helm of the Adestria and looked at her brothers. 

Under the circumstances, Alexios was faring well. He still had nightmares, still had trouble controlling his temper, still had trouble trusting people, but he was improving.

Stentor had his own set of issues to deal with. Getting used to life at sea was a struggle. Sickness from the waves, trouble sleeping with the movement of the ocean and the unfamiliar sounds, the diet of almost exclusively fish and seafood, which was something Stentor obviously hated. Not to mention the shame and guilt associated with his ejection from the Spartan army.

Kassandra really didn’t understand why he had chosen to stay on the ship after their parents had departed for dry land. He seemed to be absolutely miserable, and it appeared to only be getting worse. Now he was standing by the railing while they slid into port, arms crossed, staring at the horizon, ignoring everyone.

Looking back to Alexios again, she saw him engaged in animated conversation with their newest crewmembers, two huntressess who had chosen to join them a few weeks back, looking for a new kind of adventure. It warmed her heart to see him socialize so easily. If only Stentor could do the same.

The rowers were guiding the Adestria up against the dock, so Kassandra stepped down the stairs and walked over to her adopted brother. “Chaire, Stentor. Are you well?” He barely glanced in her direction and gave her a short, terse nod. She stopped herself sighing and tried again. “I’m heading to the agora to arrange for supplies, would you like to join me? Make sure we get some things you like?”

Stentor snorted with derision and turned, looking down his nose at her. “Don’t bother. I probably won’t be on this _malakas_ ship much longer.” He glared and turned back to stare at the water.

Kassandra was taken aback and gaped at him for a moment before she found her voice again. “I’m sorry to hear that. It has been good to have you on the ship.” She raised her hand to his shoulder and clasped it. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better. It’s helped me to feel that we are family and not just reluctant allies.”

He turned to her, a look of surprise on his face, though if that was because of her words or the fact that she had dared to touch him, she wasn’t sure. She caught his eyes and squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t leave without saying goodbye, ok?”

He gave another terse nod and she left him, walking off the ship, waving at Alexios on the way.

* * *

Kassandras steps were hurried as she made her way back to Adrestia a short time later, a jug held firm in her hands. As she neared the ship she scanned the deck for her brothers, spotting Alexios doing exercises at the bow, but Stentor was nowhere to be seen.

She hopped aboard and called to the nearest crewman. “Where is Stentor? Is he still here?” 

The crewman nodded and pointed to the hatch in the deck. “He’s down below.”

Kassandra grinned her thanks and ran over, jumping down into the ship, mindful of the jug in her hands.

“Stentor!” The ship was dark with few lanterns lit since most of the crew were on land, enjoying what the portside village had to offer. “Stentor! Where are you?”

Her brother’s head popped out from behind a tall stack of crates, scowl on his face. “What?! I’m right here!”

Kassandra almost _ran_ up to him, giddy with excitement, and held the jug out between them. “You’ll _never_ guess what I found at the agora!”

She could see that her brother was trying to keep his scowl in place, but his curiosity in the face of her excitement softened his expression as he looked the jug her hands. “What did you find?”

“Mélās zōmós!”

His face erupted in the same skeptical surprise as hers had when she found the vendor selling it. “What? No! That can’t be, not _here_.”

She grinned at him. “It _is_! I _tasted_ it.” He shook his head, a smile threatening his scowl.

She walked over to a nearby bench and set the jug down. “Do we have any bowls around?” Stentor walked over to the crates and pulled out two small water cups.

“What’s going on?” Alexios' deep voice startled them both. He was frowning at them, confused. “You seemed worried when you came on the ship. I came to check… what’s going on?”

Kassandra grinned at him and waved him over to the bench. “Mélās zōmós. It’s a Spartan soup. You usually can’t find it outside of Sparta or it’s camps unless you make it yourself.” She poured the soup from the jug into the small clay cups carefully. “Do you want some?”

Alexios nodded and she handed him a cup while Stentor went to fetch another one. After she’d filled that one too, they all sat down on the bench, Kassandra and Stentor raising the cups and inhaling the aroma before taking their first sips, and sighing with contentment.

“It tastes like childhood.” Kassandra smiled into her cup and took another drink.

“It tastes like camaraderie and victorious battle.” Stentor closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Beside them, Alexios spluttered. “It tastes _disgusting_! How can you drink this?”

Kassandra laughed and patted him on the knee, while Stentor grabbed Alexios cup and drained it with a feral grin.

The three of them sat in silence, the two older siblings enjoying their soup, refilling their little cups several times. After a while Alexios spoke up. “So why did you look so worried?” Kassandra gave him a confused look. “When you arrived, you looked really worried and called out for Stentor like something was wrong.”

“Oh, right. I just thought he might have left already. I didn’t want him to miss this before he goes.”

“You’re leaving?” Kassandra thought there was a note of hurt in Alexios voice.

Stentor nodded at the floor. “I am. I don’t belong here. I don’t fit in. It’s not… it’s not either of you. I just don’t… fit.”

“Oh.” Alexios frowned, but then Kassandra saw a sly grin spread over his face. “That’s too bad. Efima will be disappointed.”

Stentor looked up at his brother in surprise. “What?”

“Efima. She _likes_ you. So she’ll be disappointed if you leave.”

Stunned, Stentor repeated himself. “What?”

“Mmm. She thinks you’re handsome, is impressed with your fighting skills, always asking me to tell stories about your time as General. I _told_ her to go talk to you directly, but I guess she never plucked up the courage. You _can_ be a bit… forbidding, you know.”

Stentor sat slack jawed, staring into the air, blinking owlishly. Kassandra gripped his shoulder and squeezed. “You should go talk to her. There is no rush for you to leave this ship. I want you to stay. So maybe you could spend some time getting to know this woman before you make up your mind?”

Stentor nodded stupidly and shot to his feet. He started walking towards the ladder, but stopped and turned. “Thanks for the soup. It was good.” Then he disappeared up on deck, leaving his siblings behind.

They smiled after him, and Kassandra drained the last of the soup from her cup. “I don’t understand how you can drink that, let alone like it. It’s _vile_. It’s almost worth it having been raised by the Cult just so I never had to drink that.”

Kassandra laughed out loud and put the cup on the bench. She hooked her arm around Alexios neck and pulled him close, pressing a kiss to his temple. “I love you, little brother. How about we go to the agora together? This one is much better stocked than they usually are. Maybe we can find some things _you_ really like.”

  
  


* * *

**Author's Note:**

> As far as I know, there’s no explanation for why Stentor is serving on the Adrestia instead of still being a General in the Spartan army. I just can’t see him leaving willingly to serve as muscle on a ship. Serving under Kassandra no less. So, for the purposes of this story, I’m imagining something terrible happened that forced him into exile. Something which they never ever ever talk about.
> 
> Mélās Zōmós  
> From Wikipedia: The ancient Spartan melas zomos (μέλας ζωμός mélās zōmós), or black soup / black broth, was a staple soup made of boiled pigs' legs, blood, salt and vinegar. It is thought that the vinegar was used as an emulsifier to keep the blood from clotting during the cooking process. The armies of Sparta mainly ate this as part of their subsistence diet.


End file.
